Citation:
He was an aid man with the 1st Platoon of Company C during an attack on the town of
Alemert, Germany. The platoon, committed in a flanking maneuver, had advanced down a
small, open valley overlooked by wooded slopes hiding enemy machineguns and tanks, when
the attack was stopped by murderous fire that inflicted heavy casualties in the American
ranks. Ordered to withdraw, Cpl. Kelly reached safety with uninjured remnants of the unit,
but, on realizing the extent of casualties suffered by the platoon, voluntarily retraced
his steps and began evacuating his comrades under direct machinegun fire. He was forced to
crawl, dragging the injured behind him for most of the 300 yards separating the exposed
area from a place of comparative safety. Two other volunteers who attempted to negotiate
the hazardous route with him were mortally wounded, but he kept on with his herculean task
after dressing their wounds and carrying them to friendly hands. In all, he made 10
separate trips through the brutal fire, each time bringing out a man from the death trap.
Seven more casualties who were able to crawl by themselves he guided and encouraged in
escaping from the hail of fire. After he had completed his heroic, self-imposed task and
was near collapse from fatigue, he refused to leave his platoon until the attack had been
resumed and the objective taken. Cpl. Kelly's gallantry and intrepidity in the face of
seemingly certain death saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers and was an example
of bravery under fire.

Citation Courtesy of
www.HomeOfHeroes.com

.

NOTE - After 19 years online,
HomeOfHeroes.com may soon close it's doors.

Many of the HERO STORIES, history,
citations and other information detailed in this website are, at least for now, available
in PRINT or DIGITAL format from AMAZON.COM. The below comprise the nearly 4-dozen books
currently available.

Your HomeOfHeroes CONTENT & Navigation is below the following
Advertisement.

Medal
of Honor Books

This series of books contains the citations for ALL
Medals of Honor awarded to that branch of service, with brief biographical data and photos
of many of the recipients. Some of them also include citations for other awards, analysis
of awards, data tables and analysis and more. Click on a book to find it on Amazon.com
where you can find more details on what is contained in each book, as well as to get a
free preview. Each volume is $24.95.

These books contain the citations for nearly all of the awards of the Silve
Star and higher to members of each branch of service in the War on Terrorism. Books
include photos of most recipients, some biographical data, analysis of awards by rank,
unit, date, and more.

ENCYCLOPEDIA
of AMERICAN MILITARY HEROES

With the 5 Medal of Honor volumes
above, these books comprise a virtual 28-volume ENCYCLOPEDIA of decorated American
heroes(15,000 pages) with award citations, history, tables & analysis, and
detailed indexes of ACEs, FLAG OFFICERS, and more. (Click on any book to see it in
Amazon.com - $24.95 Each Volume)

Each of the individual citations in
this section should be printable as a single, full page similar to the one at right.
If you have any problems getting a finished page like the one shown, click on it to access
our PRINT HELPS page.